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on Agricultural Economics |
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Issue of 2021‒05‒31
53 papers chosen by |
| By: | Silva, F de F., L. E. Fulginiti and R. K.Perrin |
| Abstract: | Bush fires raged across the Brazilian Amazon in 2019. The CO2 that was sequestered in those forests is now in the atmosphere, adding to the rate of global warming. The burned-over land will likely be converted to agriculture. Possible contributors to these events include climate change itself, creating hotter, drier conditions, and what is reportedly a reduction in the vigor of forest preservation efforts under a new government. But here we explore a third possible contributor: technical change may have been increasing the incentives to convert forests to agriculture. We examine the nature of technical change from 2003 to 2015, across 287 municipalities within Brazil’s “arc of deforestation”. We consider grains, livestock and timber as agricultural outputs and CO2 emission from deforestation as an undesirable output. On average across the region, we estimate the annual rate of technical change in agriculture over this period to have been 4.9%, with a significant bias toward agricultural outputs and away from CO2 emissions, meaning that it has been increasingly attractive to convert these forests to agriculture. This technological incentive for deforestation has thus been building up during the early part of this century, but actual deforestation was held in check somewhat by forest preservation policies until recently, when a more relaxed policy environment has allowed the increased technological incentive for deforestation to be more fully expressed. These changes have added to climate change as contributors to the recent burst in Amazon forest destruction. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2021–01–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nbaesp:311049&r= |
| By: | Emily Gray; Katherine Baldwin |
| Abstract: | Agricultural producers in the United States have significant experience in managing the risk of natural hazard-induced disasters (NHID), but the 2019 Midwestern Floods and Hurricane Florence in 2018 highlighted the importance of increasing resilience to extreme floods. A number of current practices already build resilience. Producers can access science-based information on adaptation to climate and weather-related risks, preparedness and recovery, including through the USDA Climate Hubs. Formal networks build relationships and capabilities before a disaster, improving the effectiveness of disaster preparedness and response. USDA conservation programmes and various soil health initiatives help farmers to mitigate the impacts of floods on production. However, most farm support is directed to agricultural risk management policies and disaster assistance that help producers cope with the impacts of NHID. Integrating resilience objectives into these programmes would send a clearer signal to producers about the need to adapt and increase resilience. Policy makers should also engage with trusted stakeholders – including farm organisations and extension agents – to promote the benefits of practices that build resilience to NHID ID. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural risk management, Floods, Natural disaster risk, Resilience |
| JEL: | Q54 Q18 Q15 Q16 Q25 |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:161-en&r= |
| By: | Rana, Abdul Wajid |
| Abstract: | The state intervention in the agriculture market and trade policies, including ad-ministered prices or protective trade policies, with the objective of supporting food secu-rity, income generation for growers, and affordability for consumers has a long history. Most of these have been phased out through the late 1980s and 1990s though, wheat (through domestic procurement, temporary import/export control imposing regulatory duties, and sub-sidized sales to select flour mills) and sugarcane (through import tariffs, as well as indicative prices and export subsidies) still are the two major crops with public intervention. In addition, import tariffs and other restrictions protecting dairy products and vegetable oils remains. Be-sides, there are input subsidies on fertilizers, electricity for water pumping1 or implicitly, on canal irrigation water. |
| Keywords: | PAKISTAN, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, commodities, debt, intervention, agriculture, wheat, policies, markets, wheat markets, procurement, wheat procurement, |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:pacewp:march2021&r= |
| By: | Francesca Casalini; Morvarid Bagherzadeh; Emily Gray |
| Abstract: | New Zealand’s agricultural sector faces the challenge of building long-term resilience to floods, which are projected to increase due to climate change. The New Zealand agricultural sector receives minimal government support and the policy environment focuses on providing an enabling environment for farmers to build their own resilience capacities, while the government has a more direct, but limited, role during disaster response and recovery. Key good practices include an ex ante framework to discipline ex post assistance to agriculture; incentives for industry groups to develop support resources for farmers; and an emphasis on mental wellbeing following a crisis. Nevertheless, further efforts to strengthen resilience could benefit from: (i) improved data collection to support targeted investments in risk prevention and mitigation; (ii) increased public-private collaboration to develop and diffuse effective solutions for adapting to and mitigating the risks of natural hazard-induced disasters on farms, including by leveraging the renewed engagement on extension services; and (iii) greater commitment to ensuring preparedness and response capacities in rural regions. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural risk management, Floods, Natural disaster risk, Resilience |
| JEL: | Q54 Q18 Q15 Q16 Q25 |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:160-en&r= |
| By: | Bazzana, Davide; Foltz, Jeremy; Zhang, Ying |
| Abstract: | The study proposes an agent-based model to investigate how adoption of climate smart agriculture (CSA) affects food security. The analysis investigates the role of social and ecological pressures (i.e. community network, climate change and environmental externalities) on the adoption of physical water and soil practices as well as crop rotation technique. The findings reveal that CSA may be an effective strategy to improve the rural populations' well-being for farm households with access to capital, strong social networks and access to integrated food markets. The climate scenario simulations indicate that farmers adopting CSA fare better than non-adopters, although CSA adoption does not fully counterbalance the severe climate pressures. In addition, farmers with poor connections to food markets benefit less from CSA due to stronger price oscillations. These results call for an active role for policy makers in encouraging adaptation through CSA adoption by increasing access to capital, improving food market integration and building social networks. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemwp:311096&r= |
| By: | Katherine Baldwin; Francesca Casalini |
| Abstract: | Increasingly frequent and severe droughts are threatening Italy’s agricultural sector. With climate change forecast to accelerate these trends, the sector must build long-term resilience. This will require better planning and preparing for, absorbing the impact of, and recovering from droughts, as well as more successfully adapting and transforming in response to these events. Recent positive developments include improved data collection on water supplies and agricultural damage and loss from natural hazards to better inform water management and investment decisions; strengthened commitment to ex ante risk management frameworks; and more participatory approaches for water management. Nevertheless, the agricultural policy portfolio currently underemphasises investments in on-farm preparedness and adaptation, in favour of coping tools such as insurance. Further efforts to build agricultural resilience could benefit from a holistic, long-term sectoral risk management strategy; an evaluation of the trade-offs between spending on risk coping tools versus investments in natural hazard preparedness and measures to mitigate their impacts; and more explicit consideration of farmer demographics and capacities in policy design. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture risk management, Drought, Resilience, Water governance |
| JEL: | Q54 Q18 Q15 Q16 Q25 |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:158-en&r= |
| By: | Hennessey, Mathew; Fournié, Guillaume; Hoque, Md. Ahasanul; Kumar Biswas, Paritosh; Alarcon, Pablo; Ebata, Ayako; Mahmud, Rashed; Hasan, Mahmudul; Barnett, Tony |
| Abstract: | Poultry production is a valuable source of nutritious food and income and is considered a crucial part of global development. This is especially important for countries such as Bangladesh where levels of hunger and childhood stunting remain high. However, in many low- and middle-income countries poultry production remains dominated by small to medium scale enterprises operating with poor farm biosecurity associated with poultry and zoonotic disease risks. We aimed to characterize the structure of poultry production in Bangladesh in order to identify the underlying structural factors and resulting practices which create risk environments for emergence, persistence and transmission of infectious diseases. Using the concept of production and distribution network (PDN), we conducted a review of the literature, 27 in-depth interviews with key-informants and stakeholders, and 20 structured interviews with poultry distributors to map the ways which poultry are raised, distributed and marketed in Bangladesh. Findings indicate that the PDN can be considered in the context of four major sub-networks, based on the types of chickens; broadly indigenous, cross-bred, exotic broiler, and layer chickens. These sub-networks do not exist in isolation; their transactional nodes - actors and sites - are dynamic and numerous interactions occur within and between PDNs. Our findings suggest that the growth in small and medium scale poultry enterprises is conducted within ‘fragile’ enterprises by inexperienced and poorly supported producers, many of whom lack capacity for the level of system upgrading needed to mitigate disease risk. Efforts could be taken to address the structural underlying factors identified, such as the poor bargaining power of producers and lack of access to independent credit and indemnity schemes, as a way to reduce the fragility of the PDN and increase its resilience to disease threats. This knowledge on the PDN structure and function provide the essential basis to better study the generation, mitigation and consequences of disease risks associated to livestock, including the analysis of potential hotspots for disease emergence and transmission. |
| Keywords: | disease risk; distribution; network; poultry; production; value chain |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:110297&r= |
| By: | Eissler, Sarah; Diatta, Ampa Dogui; Heckert, Jessica; Nordehn, Caitlin |
| Abstract: | This study presents qualitative findings from an assessment conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute and Cultural Practice, LLC of the African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training program for women (ATVET4Women) in Benin, supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). ATVET4Women in Benin targets women working in value chains for four target commodities (soy, rice, chicken, and compost) to support capacity building in their respective nodes (production, processing, and marketing). The contributions of this study are multifold. First, it assesses program experiences and impacts. Second, it examines the gender dimensions of production, processing, and marketing activities in four specific value chains. Third, this research is a component of a broader study to adapt and validate the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index for market inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI) on key agricultural value chains in Benin and Malawi for ATVET4Women. This study employed multiple qualitative methods to assess beneficiaries’ program experiences and impacts. Fifteen key informant interviews were conducted with various actors along the value chain and agro-processing center managers involved in ATVET4Women. Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with women beneficiaries of ATVET4Women, husbands of beneficiaries, women that were involved in the value chain but did not participate in ATVET4Women, and ATVET4Women trainers. Structured observations were conducted of five ATVET4Women training centers. In general, women beneficiaries and their husbands shared positive reviews of ATVET4Women in that the program increased women’s confidence in their abilities and taught women best practices for producing and selling higher quality products, generating higher incomes for women. Women noted several challenges and barriers to participate in ATVET4Women, including limited availability to travel to or partake in the trainings due to competing demands and priorities on their time, requiring their husbands’ permission to attend, and limited means to support travel to and from trainings. Related to findings around empowerment, results suggest that an empowered woman is closely tied to her ability to generate income, regardless of her decision-making autonomy, whereas an empowered man is one who generates higher incomes and is autonomous in his decision-making. A woman is expected to be submissive to her husband and defer to his decision-making, which holds implications for her ability to participate in activities outside of the household, including but not limited to ATVET4Women and similar programs. This study concludes with specific recommendations for ATVET4Women and similar programs to consider in future iterations of further programming to increase women’s empowerment in Benin. |
| Keywords: | BENIN; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; empowerment; gender; women; women's empowerment; agriculture; agricultural extension; value chains; training; decision making; capacity building; agricultural value chains; market access; agricultural training; Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index; WEAI for market inclusion |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2005&r= |
| By: | Rana, Abdul Wajid; Haider, Zeeshan |
| Abstract: | Agriculture, worldwide, has seen remarkable transformation in farming practices, institutional frameworks and policies during the last three decades. Dynamic international markets and the diffusion of bioinformatics technology are shifting farming towards a new organizational model. Production systems are seeking new forms of coordination and control, increasing demand for traceability of origin, and greater integration into international markets. Public research programs are looking beyond mono-cropping systems toward integration of farming, cattle-raising and forestry and whole agriculture innovation system. Global positioning systems (GPS) and computerized agricultural machinery linked via satellites is promoting precision agriculture where inputs are calibrated exactly to the differences in soil and farm activities while farmers are looking for their linkages with output markets for their produce. Commitments to international agreements and conventions regarding biodiversity, climate change, food security, and land use are creating a new bottom line for agricultural practices. This necessitates a new institutional and regulatory framework. |
| Keywords: | PAKISTAN, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, agriculture, policies, agricultural policies, farming systems, reforms, capacity building, |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:pacewp:february2021&r= |
| By: | Pe'er, Guy; Birkenstock, Maren; Lakner, Sebastian; Röder, Norbert |
| Abstract: | Despite significant efforts, investments and some local successes, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has not succeeded in halting the loss of farmland biodiversity. To address this (and other) weaknesses, the CAP post-2020 proposes a new “Green Architecture” comprising (inter alia) compulsory elements (enhanced conditionality through Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions - GAEC), voluntary Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs), and a new instrument called “Eco-schemes”. Will this new Green Architecture, combined with a result-based orientation of the CAP, help address the biodiversity crisis? To provide science-based feedback on this proposal, more than 300 scientists from 22 Member States (MSs) have provided their expertise through 13 workshops that took place between October and December 2020, and a follow up online survey. The results are published in Thünen Working Reports with 3 volumes. The Thünen Working Paper 175 – Volume 1 contains all results of the workshops with experts' assessment. The present Thünen Working Paper 175 – Volume 2 contains all reports of the Member-State-Workshops as well as an overview of the experts' opinions on the Flagship-Eco-schemes proposed by the EU Commission. In addition, a policy brief on the results was published in Thünen Working Paper 175 – Volume 3. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2021–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:311099&r= |
| By: | Kazembe, Cynthia |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews different studies on technology adoption in sub-Saharan Africa to understand the determinants of low adoption of improved technologies, with a special focus on Malawi. This will in turn help explain why there is a gap between awareness and adoption of agriculture technologies. As evidenced from the results of the FGDs conducted in Malawi in 2018, despite the visible benefits of the new technologies, farmers often do not adopt or take a long time to adopt them. This creates a gap between awareness of agriculture technologies and their adoption. The existing literature from sub-Saharan Saharan Africa, demonstrates that adoption, as a decision-making process, is affected by farmers’ access to information, their financial and human capital, incentives and external programs, plus farmers’ attitude to risk. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI; SOUTHERN AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; technology; agriculture; access to information; agricultural extension; human capital; adoption; incentives; risk; fertilizers; agricultural technologies; financial capital; DeSIRA; Developing Smart Innovations through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA); technology awareness; agriculture technology adoption |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:prnote:1243326122&r= |
| By: | Makiko Shigemitsu; Emily Gray |
| Abstract: | Japan is highly exposed to natural hazards, and agricultural producers in Japan have significant experience in managing the risk of natural hazard-induced disasters (NHID). However, recent large-scale typhoons and heavy rain events have highlighted the importance of increasing the sector’s resilience to NHID. A number of current practices build resilience. Disaster risk governance and agricultural policy frameworks are flexible and responsive to evolving NHID risks. Non-structural measures such as hazard maps are increasingly seen as complementary to infrastructure in preventing and mitigating flood risks. Innovative on-farm solutions for mitigating flood risks, such as the paddy field dam, are also increasingly used. Disaster response is rapid, and disaster assistance prioritises helping producers to resume farming. However, agricultural disaster risk management (DRM) must reflect the challenge of more frequent and intense typhoons and heavy rains in the context of ageing and depopulation in rural areas. Public DRM measures should also be complemented by greater efforts from farmers and other stakeholders, such as agricultural co-operatives, to build agricultural resilience to NHID. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural risk management, Heavy rains, Natural Disaster risk, Resilience, Typhoons |
| JEL: | Q54 Q18 Q15 Q16 Q25 |
| Date: | 2021–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:159-en&r= |
| By: | Pene, Cédric; Zhu, Xiaolu |
| Abstract: | The WTO Agreement on Agriculture applies to those "agricultural products" as defined in its Annex 1. This definition expressly excludes "fish and fish products" from the scope of application of the Agreement. In light of this exclusion, the paper is intended to provide a historical account of the relationship between agricultural products and fishery products in the context of the negotiations leading to and during the GATT period up to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, and some of its implications for WTO negotiations. The paper reviews documents emanating from past trade negotiations, including minutes and reports of meetings, Members' submissions, draft and final texts from negotiations, as well as background notes by the GATT and WTO Secretariats. The review suggests that the differentiation between agricultural and fishery products dates back to the early days of trade negotiations in the last century, even though the line between them was not consistently drawn in negotiations. Over time, the answer to the question of whether fish and fish products should be separate from agricultural products appears to have evolved with the context in which the question arose, in view of the issues at stake. In addition, the types of measures on which negotiations were focused could also help to explain, to an extent, the separation of fish and fishery products from agricultural products at the end of the Uruguay Round. |
| Keywords: | agricultural products,fish and fish products (fishery products),protective measures,tariffs,natural resources,GATT negotiations,WTO negotiations |
| JEL: | F13 F18 N50 Q17 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd202112&r= |
| By: | Behaghel, Luc; Gignoux, Jeremie; Macours, Karen |
| Abstract: | Evaluating a large-scale program for dairy farmers in Uganda, we show that a simple version of the "contact farmer" extension model can meaningfully increase smallholder farmers' revenues. While the program provides no monetary incentives, we find evidence that two other ingredients â?? backstopping by professional extension agent and advertising pro-social motivation â?? reinforce its impacts. Though it has been hypothesized to be a major impediment to social learning in Sub- Saharan African agriculture, we do not find smallholder heterogeneity to condition the effectiveness of the approach: farmer trainers trained to take this heterogeneity into consideration do not perform better; moreover, we find no statistical evidence that program effects vary by farmers' characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Productivity; extension; Heterogeneity; Livestock; Social learning |
| JEL: | O12 O13 O33 Q16 |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15220&r= |
| By: | Ariel Ortiz-Bobea |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is arguably the most climate-sensitive sector of the economy. Growing concerns about anthropogenic climate change have increased research interest in assessing its potential impact on the sector and in identifying policies and adaptation strategies to help the sector cope with a changing climate. This chapter provides an overview of recent advancements in the analysis of climate change impacts and adaptation in agriculture with an emphasis on methods. The chapter provides an overview of recent research efforts addressing key conceptual and empirical challenges. The chapter also discusses practical matters about conducting research in this area and provides reproducible R code to perform common tasks of data preparation and model estimation in this literature. The chapter provides a hands-on introduction to new researchers in this area. |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2105.12044&r= |
| By: | Harkness, Caroline; Areal, Francisco; Bishop, Jacob |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc21:311086&r= |
| By: | Traore, Fousseini; Diop, Insa |
| Abstract: | Over the past two decades, the prices of agricultural commodities have experienced large and unpredictable fluctuations that have attracted the attention of researchers, policymakers and the media to better understand the mechanisms that govern this phenomenon. It is therefore important to acquire basic tools to assess the level of price volatility to warn of abnormal movements. The main objective of this technical note is to provide an overview of this literature in constant evolution, and tools for measuring food price volatility. The tools developed in this technical note help understand the complexity of measuring volatility and the caution required in their use. Thus, the application of these tools requires their adaptation to the nature of the data generating process and the use of appropriate tests and criteria in order to choose the best approach. |
| Keywords: | food prices, price volatility, tools, agricultural products, commodities, food price volatility, |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:agrotn:19&r= |
| By: | Rana, Abdul Wajid; Davies, Stephen; Moeen, Muhammad Saad; Shikoh, Sania Haider; Rizwan, Noormah |
| Abstract: | Balochistan’s agriculture and related economic development during the last four decades has been driven by an enhancement in canal command areas and widespread use of tubewells. While it enabled yield increases and the growth of high value horticulture, it led to excessive mining of ground water. It is not only threatening sustainable agriculture and livelihoods but also creating severe environmental repercussions. It is generally believed that this unchecked groundwater extraction has been a result of policy regime, such as promoting installation of tubewells through various incentive schemes and tubewells subsidy which allows farmers to pay only 5-10% of the actual cost, and as a result the Federal and provincial governments have been paying PKR 23 billion per year. |
| Keywords: | PAKISTAN, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, water, groundwater, water availability, irrigation, crops, costs, stakeholders, policies, agriculture, environment, energy, economic viability, tubewell, water pricing, environmental viability, |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:pacewp:september2020&r= |
| By: | Ragasa, Catherine; Malapit, Hazel J.; Rubin, Deborah; Myers, Emily; Pereira, Audrey; Martinez, Elena M.; Heckert, Jessica; Seymour, Greg; Mzungu, Diston; Kalagho, Kenan; Kazembe, Cynthia; Thunde, Jack; Mswelo, Grace |
| Abstract: | Inclusive agricultural value chains (VCs) are potential drivers for poverty reduction, food security, and women’s empowerment. This report assesses the implementation of the Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education Training for Women Program (ATVET4Women) that aims to support women with vocational training and market linkages in priority agricultural value chains. This report focuses on Malawi, one of the six pilot countries of the ATVET4Women; and focuses on vegetable value chains in which some non-formal training sessions have been conducted as of October 2019. This report presents (1) program experience of stakeholders; (2) evidence of program benefits and challenges among ATVET4Women non-formal training graduates; and (3) baseline data on value chain and empowerment indicators, using a pilot household survey-based instrument for measuring women’s empowerment in agricultural value chains (pro-WEAI for market inclusion) and supplementary qualitative research. Results show graduates’ satisfaction and appreciation of the training provided, and some graduates reported having access to more lucrative markets as a result of the training. However, positive changes in several outcome indicators were reported by only some graduates: 30 percent of graduates reported increased production and sales. There is no significant difference in the reported changes and levels of vegetable production and income between graduates and non-graduates. Qualitative findings suggest that constraints to accessing agricultural inputs and funds to upgrade their production may be why there are no measured differences. Results on empowerment status reveal that 73 percent of women and 85 percent of men in the sample are empowered, and 73 percent of the sample households achieved gender parity. The main contributor of disempowerment among women and men is lack of work balance and autonomy in income. Fewer women achieved adequacy in work balance than men. Adequacies in attitudes about domestic violence, respect among household members, input in productive decisions, and asset ownership are generally high for both women and men, but significantly lower for women. While this report is mainly descriptive and further analysis is ongoing, it offers some lessons and practical implications for improving ATVET4Women program implementation and its outcomes on women’s market access, incomes, and empowerment. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI; SOUTHERN AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; empowerment; gender; women; women's empowerment; agricultural value chains; value chains; training; market access; vocational training; income; Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2006&r= |
| By: | Enahoro, Dolapo; Sircely, Jason; Boone, Randall B.; Oloo, Stephen; Komarek, Adam M.; Bahta, Sirak; Herrero, Mario; Rich, Karl M. |
| Abstract: | The demand for livestock-derived foods has steadily grown over the past decades and rising incomes and human populations are expected to see demand further increase. It is unclear if current livestock feed resources are adequately prepared to meet future demand especially given the looming challenges of climate change. Many feeds such as grasses, crop by-products, and other biomass may not be widely grown commercially or sold in formal markets but are critical sources of livestock feed in many low-resource settings in which ruminant livestock production is important. The availability of these feed types can determine the extent to which the livestock sector can expand to meet growing, and sometimes critical, demand for animal-source foods. In this paper, we compare country-level projections of livestock demand from a global economic model to simulated data on feed biomass production. Our comparisons account separately for beef, lamb, and dairy demand. The data allow us to assess the future sufficiency of key sources of feed biomass, and hence aspects of the expansion capacity of livestock production in selected countries in Southern Africa. Our simulation results project that given the interacting effects of projected climate change and changes in income and population in the region, there will not be enough feed biomass produced domestically to meet growing demand for livestock products. For three types of feed biomass (feed crops including grains, grasses, and crop by-products) for which future livestock feed sufficiency was examined, our results showed feed sufficiency declines for all three feed types in Malawi and Mozambique, for two out of three in South Africa and for one of three in Zambia, under intermediate and extreme scenarios of climate change in 2050. Our results suggest an urgent need to improve feed biomass productivity to support future supply of animal protein in the study countries. |
| Date: | 2021–05–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:qmdrt&r= |
| By: | Traore, Fousseini; Diop, Insa |
| Abstract: | The study of market integration offers a powerful tool for understanding the relationships between geographically distant markets, for analyzing the impact of liberalization policies and for diagnosing the transmission of price shocks. The literature on tools for measuring market integration, particularly those developed for agricultural markets, has been subject to major developments in terms of approaches over the past two decades. This technical note aims to provide an overview of the literature and tools for measuring agricultural markets integration, as well as their applications. The results should be interpreted with caution as these methods are in full development and must be linked to qualitative information that can support their validity. |
| Keywords: | markets, models, econometric models, statistical methods, prices, data, agriculture, market integration, TAR model, MTAR model, econometric methods, agricultural markets, |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:agrotn:tn-18&r= |
| By: | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) |
| Abstract: | This price bulletin was developed by researchers at IFPRI Malawi with the goal of providing clear and accurate information on the variation of weekly retail prices of selected agricultural commodities that are important for food security and nutrition in Malawi. The reports are intended as a resource for those interested in agricultural markets in Malawi. |
| Keywords: | MALAWI, SOUTHERN AFRICA, AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA, AFRICA, livestock, prices, food prices, chickens, eggs, retail prices, goat meat, livestock products, fish |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:masspb:5b&r= |
| By: | Nguyen-Van, P.; Stenger, A.; Veron, E. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc21:311087&r= |
| By: | Catherine Laroche-Dupraz (SMART - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Angela Cheptea (SMART - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | A recent trend of literature investigates how international trade compensates or accentuates the differences in countries' endowments in water resources and whether trade regulation should be used to improve the use of water resources at the global level. We develop a simple model establishing a positive link between the demand for irrigation water of agricultural producers and the international price of irrigated crops. Unlike previous works that focus on the cost and scarcity of water resources, we emphasize the role of international trade in the allocation of water resources in agriculture. We test our model empirically using data on 243 irrigated crops exported by 183 countries, and find that countries' irrigation behavior is strongly linked to the global price of crops. The export price effect is stronger when countries are net exporters of irrigated crops and weaker for cereals that constitute a pillar of most countries' domestic food security. |
| Keywords: | Agri-food products,International trade,Virtual water,Water resources,Irrigation |
| Date: | 2021–01–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03227465&r= |
| By: | Joseph I. Uduji (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria); Elda N. Okolo-Obasi (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the corporate social responsibility initiatives of multinational oil companies in Nigeria. Its main focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on equipping the rural young people with essential farming skills and knowledge for adoption and application of modern agricultural inputs in the Niger Delta region. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts a survey research technique, aimed at gathering information from a representative sample of the population, as it is essentially cross-sectional, describing and interpreting the current situation. A total of 800 rural young people were sampled across the oil producing region. Findings – The results from the use of combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that the GMoU model has a significant impact on development of informal farm entrepreneurship generally, but somewhat undermined rural young people in the targeted agricultural clusters. Practical implications – This suggests that youth-specific CSR farm projects can be effective in providing young people with the extra push needed to tackle the knowledge gap and poor agronomic that erect the below-per yield and lack of competitiveness of small-holder farmers in the region. Social implications – It implies that a coherent and integrated CSR response from business would be necessary to unlock investment opportunities on young people in farms for agricultural competitiveness and food security in Africa. Originality/value – This research adds to the literature on informal farm entrepreneurship and rural communities’ debate in sub-Saharan Africa. It concludes that business has obligation to help in solving problems of youth unemployment in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | Global memorandum of understanding (GMoU), Rural young people, Informal farm entrepreneurship, sub-Saharan Africa |
| Date: | 2021–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exs:wpaper:21/033&r= |
| By: | Sanu, Md Sahnewaz |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of GDP growth, coal consumption, financial advancement, and trade openness on CO2 discharges in India for the time span 1971-2017. The present research employs the ARDL bounds test to inspect the long-run cointegrating linkage followed by Granger causality test structured on vector error correction modelling (VECM) techniques to analyse the causal relationship between the variables. The results obtained from the bounds F-statistics confirm the presence of a long-run stable relationship between the variables. The results further demonstrate that GDP growth and coal consumption raise carbon emissions substantially while the financial development and trade openness boost the environmental quality in India. Besides, the findings confirm an inverse quadratic link between economic growth and CO2 discharges, supporting the validity of EKC hypothesis for India. The Granger causality analysis shows bidirectional causality between coal consumption and economic growth, economic growth and CO2 emissions and between coal consumption and CO2 emissions. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions, GDP, coal consumption, financial development; trade openness; Environmental Kuznets curve; ARDL; VECM; India. |
| JEL: | C32 Q43 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2019–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:107845&r= |
| By: | Marine JOUVIN |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes new estimates of the prevalence of child labor in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa farms that are certi?ed free of child labor. We rely on list experiments to avoid issues of social desirability bias associated with measuring sensitive issues, that we implement on a sample of 4 458 Ivorian cocoa farmers. We ?nd that 24% of them were helped by a child under 16 for harvesting and breaking the cocoa pods during the past 12 months, 21% for preparing their farm, and 25% employed and paid a child to perform any task on their cocoa farm. These results are twice as high as those declared by farmers when directly questioning them on their child labour use. Last, we show that the prevalence of child labor is higher for farms that are more remote, in line with limited school opportunities for children, lower adult labor supply, and weaker law enforcement capacity related to the reliance on children for farm activities. While child labor has been given considerable attention over recent years by most actors of the cocoa value chain, this paper shows that further progress can still be accomplished, particularly amongst the most remote farming communities. |
| Keywords: | List experiment, social desirability bias, child labor, certi?cation schemes |
| JEL: | C83 J23 J43 J81 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:bdxewp:2021-08&r= |
| By: | Fernando Aragon; Diego Restuccia; Juan Pablo Rud |
| Abstract: | Gollin and Udry (2021) estimate the contribution of mismeasurement to productivity dispersion among production units and conclude that previous studies have overestimated the potential efficiency gains from factor reallocation. We show that this conclusion is incorrect based on their own empirical evidence, which instead corroborates the importance of misallocation emphasized in the macro-development literature. We also point out important limitations in the implementation of the plot-level analysis that overstates the importance of mismeasurement in understanding productivity differences. |
| Keywords: | Plot, farm, misallocation, measurement error, agriculture, land institutions, distortions. |
| JEL: | O4 |
| Date: | 2021–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-697&r= |
| By: | Linsenmeier, Manuel |
| Abstract: | This study estimates causal effects of temperature variability on economic activity. For identification I use a novel research design based on spatial first-differences. Economic activity is proxied by nightlights. I distinguish between day-to-day, seasonal, and interannual variability and find that the type of variability matters. The results suggest an economically large and statistically significant negative effect of day-to-day variability on economic activity at most temperature levels. Regarding seasonal variability, I find a smaller but also negative effect. The estimated effect of interannual variability is positive at low and negative at high temperatures. These effects are robust, they can be identified in urban and rural areas, and they cannot be explained with the spatial distribution of agriculture. The results draw attention to the effect of climate variability, which is projected to change but has so far been mostly overlooked in assessments of the impacts and costs of climate change. |
| Keywords: | climate; temperature; nightlights; day-to-day variability; seasonal variability; interannual variability |
| JEL: | Q54 Q56 R11 R12 R14 O13 |
| Date: | 2021–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:110499&r= |
| By: | Truong Van Dan; Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy; Mac Nhu Binh |
| Abstract: | Climate change is a human concern, impacting not only the physical environment but also the livelihood of the people. Warnings on the probable severe negative effects of climate change on humans have been published globally and Vietnam is one of five countries that will be affected most severely by climate change and sea level rise. Therefore, climate change needs to be considered in the strategies and plans for long-term and shortterm development goals of each locality in Vietnam including Thua Thien Hue province. As a coastal province, Thua Thien Hue has always suffered heavy losses from climate change. Through data collection and analysis, we found that over time, weather conditions and climate in Thua Thien Hue showed complicated movements, abnormal changes such as droughts, and prolonged heatwaves often occurring during the dry season from May to August every year. Meanwhile, cold weather lasted longer during rainy season (October to February). Floods and typhoons have occurred with stronger intensities, and tide amplitude has changed drastically. All these have had significant impacts on agriculture and fisheries activities in the province. |
| Keywords: | Vietnam |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sag:seadps:2020:469&r= |
| By: | Rana, Abdul Wajid; Ejaz, Amna; Shikoh, Sania Haider |
| Abstract: | Cotton is the most important cash crop in Pakistan and cotton products export account for 55 percent of all foreign exchange earnings of the country. Nearly 26 percent of farmers grow cot-ton, and over 15 percent of total cultivated area is devoted to this crop, with production pri-marily in two provinces. Approximately 65 percent of Pakistan’s cotton is grown in Punjab, which has dry conditions, and the rest is grown in Sindh, which has a more humid climate, with negligible area under cotton in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Cotton production ac-counts for 4.5 percent of the value added in AgGDP and 0.8 per cent of GDP. It serves as the raw material for the textile industry, the country’s largest agro-industrial sector , employs 17 per-cent, earns 60 percent of foreign exchange and contributes 8.5 percent to GDP. |
| Keywords: | PAKISTAN, SOUTH ASIA, ASIA, COVID-19, crops, cotton, prices, exports, imports, Coronavirus, coronavirus disease, Coronavirinae, supply balance, cotton crop, cotton production, cotton prices, |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:pacewp:april2020&r= |
| By: | Chowdhury, Shyamal; Bin Khaled, Muhammad Nahian; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Rashid, Shahidur |
| Abstract: | Public food transfer program provide a lifeline for the poor in both high- and low-income countries, and many countries stepped these up in response to COVID-19. But little is known about how effective these programs have been in reaching the poor during the crisis. This brief reviews the findings of an evaluation of Bangladesh’s Food Friendly Program, pointing to the difficulties encountered during the pandemic and lessons to help these program perform better in future crises. |
| Keywords: | BANGLADESH; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA; food transfers; Coronavirus; coronavirus disease; Coronavirinae; COVID-19; food security; poverty; economic impact; rice; policies; pandemics; social protection |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:polbrf:9780896294080&r= |
| By: | Kabata, T., L. E. Fulginiti, and R.K. Perrin |
| Abstract: | Most studies on the impacts of agriculture on the environment have devoted efforts to measure the environmental impacts of the sector rather than to assess its ability to reduce or mitigate such impacts. Some have addressed the environmental efficiency of the sector (Reinhard, et al., 1999, Ball et al., 1994 and 2004; Rezek and Perrin, 2004 and Serra et al., 2011) but only few have examined greenhouse gas emissions (Njuki and Bravo-Ureta, 2015; Dakpo, Jeanneaux and Latruffe, 2016) from the sector. This paper analyzes the agricultural performance of states in the U.S. in terms of their ability to reduce emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, two major greenhouse gases (GHGs) with important global warming potential. The analysis evaluates Färe’s PAC (pollution abatement cost) for each state and year, a measure of the opportunity costs of subjecting the sector to GHG emissions regulation. Using both hyperbolic and directional distance functions to specify the technology with good and bad outputs, we find that such regulations might reduce output by an average of about 2%, though the results for individual states vary quite widely. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2020–12–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nbaesp:311048&r= |
| By: | Robbie Maris (University of Waikato); Zack Dorner (University of Waikato); Ryan Mills (Dairy NZ) |
| Abstract: | Cost efficiency analysis has not been widely applied in the dairy industry, despite its role in driving profitability, resilience and debt serviceability in low subsidy export-oriented farming systems. We analyse cost efficiency using operating profit margin (a reliable, well-supported and easily interpretable parameter from the DuPont framework) for the first time on New Zealand dairy farms. We utilise a 10-year panel dataset, developed using sample and population data, to get a representative picture of the industry. We begin by grouping farms into quartiles of their long-run cost efficiency (10-year average) and perform non-parametric Games-Howell hypothesis testing to investigate differences in the groups. We then estimate a fixed effects panel regression model for each quartile to examine the factors correlated with cost efficiency over time within low to high performing groups. We find cost-efficient farms use less supplement and nitrogen fertiliser over the long run, milk price fluctuations disproportionately impact lower quartile groups, and farms may be able to reduce GHG emissions whilst maintaining strong cost efficiency. Our exercise demonstrates that analysing cost efficiency using operating profit margin can produce valuable insights for low subsidy export-oriented agricultural industries. |
| Keywords: | cost efficiency;dairy industry;New Zealand;operating profit margin;panel data |
| JEL: | C12 C23 Q12 |
| Date: | 2021–05–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:21/04&r= |
| By: | Müller, Daniel; Rufin, Philippe; Schwieder, Marcel |
| Abstract: | Concentration of ownership of agricultural land in fewer hands has often been highlighted as a side effect of the increasing capital resources that are allocated to the agricultural sector. One key concern is that, as more land concentrates in fewer hands, the few large actors can exert power on land markets by dominating prices through regulating supply and demand of land. Unfortunately, empirical evidence on the degree of market power on land markets remains scarce, mainly due to a lack of ownership data. We shed light on the concentration of ownership in agricultural land by analyzing the complete cadastral records of agricultural land at one point in time and for one district in the federal state of Brandenburg. We present the workflow to process the cadastral data for subsequent analysis in GIS and statistical software packages. For our study area, we derive relative and absolute concentration measures for the ownership in agricultural land. Our results suggest high relative concentration on the district level with a Gini coefficient of 0.85. Within the district, we see varying degrees of land concentration, albeit spatial clusters of high and low concentration. Our methodological approach holds great promise because it can be expanded to larger areas and different time periods. However, the cadastral data does not allow to infer on the underlying corporate structures, such as those of large investors who may own several agricultural companies. Such corporative structures may, through their local subsidiaries that could be spatially clustered, exert market power to the detriment of local land supply markets. Additional data and analysis using, for example, registers of company registers, need to be combined with the cadastral data to reveal such structures. |
| Keywords: | Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2021–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:bokufo:311013&r= |
| By: | Dang Kim Khoi; Nguyen Thi Tam Ninh; Doan Minh Thu; Vu Thi Bich Ngoc; Pham Duc Thinh; Do Huy Thiep; Nguyen Phuong Anh |
| Abstract: | Vietnam, an agriculture-based country, presents a typical example of food production—climate change paradox. Agriculture is a major contributor to the national and household economies, accounting for approximately 20.0 percent of Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 11.9 percent of total export value, and generating about 67.7 percent employment in 2015. Agricultural growth is, thus, seen as a means to ensure national food security and a tool to generate income. However, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment or MONRE (2015) notes that agriculture is the second biggest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, contributing 39.1 percent of the total GHG of the Vietnamese economy in 2010. To fulfill the Paris 21st Conference of the Parties or COP 21 agreement, the country needs to reduce its total GHG by 825 percent.  |
| Keywords: | climate-smart agriculture, Vietnam |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sag:seadps:2020:466&r= |
| By: | Bunzel, Helle; Perruso, Larry; Weninger, Quinn |
| Abstract: | This paper consistently estimates key structural properties of a multiple-species fishing technology. We overcome two ubiquitous features of fisheries data generating processes that invalidate classical estimation of fishing technologies: unobservability by the researcher but partial observability of the fish stock by fishermen and endogenous production decisions that vary with fishermen’s private knowledge of true stock abundance. Our identification strategy exploits timing and available information when production decision are made, technological constraints, and natural, exogenous variability of fish stock abundance. Consistency in estimation obtains under reasonable assumptions for fisheries data generating processes. An application to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico commercial reef fish fishery is presented to demonstrate our approach and reveal substantial bias under estimators that ignore the problem of omitted stock abundance. Implications for improved fisheries management are discussed. |
| Date: | 2021–05–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:202105210700001058&r= |
| By: | Adenuga, Adewale H.; Jack, Claire; Ashfield, Austen; Wallace, Michael |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Farm Management |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc21:311082&r= |
| By: | Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús; Koyama, Mark; Lin, Youhong; Sng, Tuan-Hwee |
| Abstract: | Patterns of political unification and fragmentation have crucial implications for comparative economic development. Diamond (1997) famously argued that ``fractured land'' was responsible for China's tendency toward political unification and Europe's protracted political fragmentation. We build a dynamic model with granular geographical information in terms of topographical features and the location of productive agricultural land to quantitatively gauge the effects of ``fractured land'' on state formation in Eurasia. We find that either topography or productive land alone is sufficient to account for China's recurring political unification and Europe's persistent political fragmentation. The existence of a core region of high land productivity in Northern China plays a central role in our simulations. We discuss how our results map into observed historical outcomes and assess how robust our findings are. |
| Keywords: | China; Europe; Great Divergence; Political Centralization; Political Fragmentation; state capacity |
| JEL: | H56 N40 P48 |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15209&r= |
| By: | Diao, Xinshen; Dorosh, Paul A.; Fang, Peixun; Schmidt, Emily |
| Abstract: | Understanding how the Papua New Guinea (PNG) agricultural economy and associated household consumption is affected by climate, market and other shocks requires attention to linkages and substitution effects across various products and the markets in which they are traded. In this study, we use a multi-market simulation model of the PNG food economy that explicitly includes production, consumption, external trade and prices of key agricultural commodities to quantify the likely impacts of a set of potential shocks on household welfare and food security in PNG. In this study, we use a multi-market simulation model of the PNG food economy that explicitly includes production, consumption, external trade and prices of key agricultural commodities to quantify the likely impacts of a set of potential shocks on household welfare and food security in PNG. We have built the model to be flexible in order to explore different potential scenarios and then identify where and how households are most affected by an unexpected shock. The model is designed using region and country-level data sources that inform the structure of the PNG food economy, allowing for a data-driven evaluation of potential impacts on agricultural production, food prices, and food consumption. Thus, as PNG confronts different unexpected challenges within its agricultural economy, the model presented in this paper can be adapted to evaluate the potential impact and necessary response by geographic region of an unexpected economic shock on the food economy of the country. We present ten simulations modeling the effects of various shocks on PNG’s economy. The first group of scenarios consider the effects of shocks to production of specific agricultural commodities including: 1) a decrease on maize and sorghum output due to Fall Armyworm; 2) reduction in pig production due to a potential outbreak of African Swine Fever; 3) decline in sweet potato production similar to the 2015/16 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate shock; and 4) a decline in poultry production due to COVID-19 restrictions on domestic mobility and trade. A synopsis of this report, which focuses on the COVID-19 related shocks on the PNG economy is also available online (Diao et al., 2020).1 The second group of simulations focus on COVID-19-related changes in international prices, increased marketing costs in international and domestic trade, and reductions in urban incomes. We simulate a 1) 30 percent increase in the price of imported rice, 2) a 30 percent decrease in world prices for major PNG agricultural exports, 3) higher trade transaction costs due to restrictions on the movement of people (traders) and goods given social distancing measures of COVID-19, and 4) potential economic recession causing urban household income to fall by 10 percent. Finally, the last simulation considers the combined effect of all COVID-19 related shocks combining the above scenarios into a single simulation. A key result of the analysis is that urban households, especially the urban poor, are particularly vulnerable to shocks related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Lower economic activity in urban areas (assumed to reduce urban non-agricultural incomes by 10 percent), increases in marketing costs due to domestic trade disruptions, and 30 percent higher imported rice prices combine to lower urban incomes by almost 15 percent for both poor and non-poor urban households. Urban poor households, however, suffer the largest drop in calorie consumption - 19.8 percent, compared to a 15.8 percent decline for urban non-poor households. Rural households are much less affected by the Covid-19 related shocks modeled in these simulations. Rural household incomes, affected mainly by reduced urban demand and market disruptions, fall by only about four percent. Nonetheless, calorie consumption for the rural poor and non-poor falls by 5.5 and 4.2 percent, respectively. |
| Keywords: | PAPUA NEW GUINEA; OCEANIA; Coronavirus; coronavirus disease; Coronavirinae; COVID-19; shock; market; prices; movement restrictions; agrifood sector; economic sectors |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2004&r= |
| By: | Burns, J.G.; Glenk, K.; Eory, V.; Simm, G.; Wall, E. |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc21:311092&r= |
| By: | Moretti, Michele; Vanschoenwinkel, Janka; Van Passel, Steven |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, International Relations/Trade |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc21:311093&r= |
| By: | Roxana Elena Manea |
| Abstract: | Existing investigations of the impact of school feeding programmes on educational outcomes have provided mixed evidence of success. In this chapter, I investigate a potential explanation for this lack of consensus in the literature. I argue that the prevailing food security situation at the time and place of the programme's evaluation plays a major role. I study the case of rural Malawi. I use an instrumental variable approach and propensity score matching to estimate the impact of school feeding on primary school enrolment and retention rates. I focus on villages with overlapping characteristics. I estimate that school feeding has increased enrolments by 7 percentage points on average, but the impact on retention rates has been relatively limited. However, when I distinguish between food-secure and food-insecure areas, not only do I find a larger impact on enrolments in food-insecure areas, but I also uncover a significant increase of around 2 percentage points in the retention rate of students in these same areas. Across the board, impacts are not significant in food-secure areas. I conclude that school feeding programmes bear an impact on education as long as they also intervene to relax a binding food constraint. |
| Keywords: | School feeding programmes;Education; Food security; Malawi |
| Date: | 2021–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:ciesrp:cies_rp_63_v2&r= |
| By: | Pengl, Yannick; Roessler, Philip; Rueda, Valeria |
| Abstract: | What are the origins of the ethnic landscapes in contemporary states? Drawing on a pre-registered research design, we test the impact of dual socioeconomic revolutions that spread across Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries - export agriculture and print technologies. We argue these changes transformed ethnicity via their effects on politicization and boundary-making. Print technologies strengthened imagined communities, leading to more salient yet porous-ethnic identities. Cash crop endowments increased groups' mobilizational potential but with more exclusionary boundaries to control agricultural rents. Using historical data on cash crops and African language publications, we find that groups exposed to these historical forces are more likely to be politically relevant in the post-independence period, and their members report more salient ethnic identities. We observe heterogenous effects on boundary-making as measured by inter-ethnic marriage; relative to cash crops, printing fostered greater openness to assimilate linguistically-related outsiders. Our findings not only illuminate the historical sources of ethnic politicization, but mechanisms shaping boundary formation. |
| Keywords: | Africa; Agriculture; Colonialism; Ethnicity; Language; Missions |
| JEL: | N47 N57 O13 O43 Z12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15162&r= |
| By: | Vargas, Jerrick Jan |
| Abstract: | Obtaining loans from Philippine banks is difficult and government support to credit was inadequate. The overall rural sector in the Philippines needs better access to credit since it could enhance their livelihood by means of expanding their agricultural activities. Farmers must also be encouraged to use high yielding inputs such as seeds, farm mechanization equipment and other harvesting and planting equipment in order to improve the quality and quantity of output. This could improve the loan repayment rates on the part of the farmers. More competition and not government subsidies to individuals or institutions is the key on having an efficient, sustainable and forward-looking rural finance sector. |
| Keywords: | Rural Finance |
| JEL: | Q14 |
| Date: | 2021–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:107509&r= |
| By: | Ghoshray, Atanu |
| Keywords: | Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc21:311084&r= |
| By: | Anthony Harris; Anthony D'Agostino; Sara Litke-Farzaneh; Beryl Seiler; Matt Sloan |
| Abstract: | The evaluation report for the Morocco Land Productivity Project outlines the impact evaluation and two performance evaluations Mathematica is designing and implementing to address research questions on project outcomes, implementation, and sustainability for the Rural and Industrial Land activities. |
| Keywords: | Morocco, Morocco Compact II, melkisation, rural land, industrial land, land titles, collective land, industrial zone, PPP, demonstration zone |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:f3fc788501b64608b17e1cb238b4b762&r= |
| By: | Rosero, Gabriel; Jaghdani, Tinoush Jamali; Brümmer, Bernhard |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc21:311090&r= |
| By: | Pe'er, Guy; Birkenstock, Maren; Lakner, Sebastian; Röder, Norbert |
| Abstract: | Despite significant efforts, investments and some local successes, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has not succeeded in halting the loss of farmland biodiversity. To address these weaknesses, the CAP post-2020 proposes a new “Green Architecture” comprising, inter alia, compulsory elements (enhanced conditionality through Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions - GAEC), voluntary Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECM), and a new instrument called “Eco-schemes”. Will this new Green Architecture, combined with a result-based orientation of the CAP, help address the biodiversity crisis? To provide science-based feedback on this proposal, more than 300 scientists from 22 MSs have provided their expertise through 13 workshops that took place between October-December 2020, and a follow up online survey. The results are published in Thünen Working Paper 175 comprising three volumes: Volume 1 is a synthesis of the results from all workshops and expert inputs as submitted through the online survey. Volume 2 contains the full reports from all MS Workshops as well as all expert inputs regarding their opinions on the Flagship-Eco-schemes proposed by the European Commission. Thünen Working Paper 175 – Volume 3 (this document) offers a policy brief summarizing the results. Although the Working Paper focuses on the proposed CAP’s performance for biodiversity as a core topic, benefits for climate change mitigation and other environmental aspects were highlighted by workshop participants; and economic considerations were highlighted where relevant. Six key issues emerged as crucial for the Green Architecture to successfully address the biodiversity crisis: •Protection and restoration of landscape features and semi-natural areas, including grasslands, should be at the core of the Green Architecture and decisive to its success. •Habitat diversity and multifunctionality should be prioritized at both the farm and landscape levels. •Spatial planning is needed in target-setting and implementation. •Collaborative and result-based approaches can and should be promoted for higher effectiveness and efficiency. •A result-based approach is highly recommended for both AECMs and Eco-schemes, with ample experience to support broader implementation. •Communication, education and farmer engagement are key to improve acceptance of compulsory requirements (enhanced conditionality), maximize uptake of effective voluntary measures (AECM and Eco-schemes), enhance learning, and generate a sense of ownership and stewardship. Simplicity in administration and broad farmer participation are central to the success of Eco-schemes. Enhanced conditionality, Eco-schemes and AECMs should be coherent and complementary to each other. In addition, a no-backsliding principle should apply across all instruments to avoid losses of existing landscape structures or habitat quality, and with them, further biodiversity loss. Enhanced conditionality should set high minimum requirements: for instance, the threshold for landscape features and non-productive land (GAEC 9) should be set to at least 5 % of farmland and applied to all agricultural areas. Eco-schemes should serve to expand ambition (e.g. in the case of landscape features, expansion towards 10 %) and improve management. AECMs should receive priority in budgeting and efforts, targeting protected areas, High Nature Value Farmlands (HNVFs), wetlands and peatlands, and long-term restoration efforts. Eco-schemes can supplement AECMs in volatile business environments and serve as entry points to AECMs. Remuneration calculations should be clear, justifiable, and transparent. They should increase with the benefits delivered and be aligned with AECMs to avoid competition. Farmers should be permitted to top up payments from different instruments into the same parcels if these fulfil multiple objectives, following, e.g., a points-based approach. MSs should strive to achieve a proper balance between “light-green”, spatially broad options versus “dark-green”, targeted measures with high impact. Eco-schemes need to be open to all types of land-users. A menu-based Eco-scheme approach offers the advantage of catering to a wide variety of farms and farm types, while allowing the design of evidence-based measures. However, if a menu-based approach is selected, their biodiversity objectives need to become much more explicit and strengthened. The targets set by the EU Green Deal and associated strategies, notably the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2FS) and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, should guide target-setting by the MSs. Biodiversity targets should be as specific, ambitious, clearly formulated, and quantitative as possible. Workshops highlighted seven criteria for ambition: 1) acknowledging the problems, 2) a clear intervention logic accompanied by a breadth of proposed actions, 3) adherence to key operating principles, 4) ambition reflected in budgets, 5) Investments into knowledge, 6) Selecting suitable indicators to ensure accountability, and 7) presenting sufficiently detailed strategic plans addressing local needs and adaptive capacities. The targets set by the EU Green Deal and associated strategies, notably the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2FS) and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, should guide target-setting by the MSs. Biodiversity targets should be as specific, ambitious, clearly formulated, and quantitative as possible. Workshops highlighted seven criteria for ambition: 1) acknowledging the problems, 2) a clear intervention logic accompanied by a breadth of proposed actions, 3) adherence to key operating principles, 4) ambition reflected in budgets, 5) Investments into knowledge, 6) Selecting suitable indicators to ensure accountability, and 7) presenting sufficiently detailed strategic plans addressing local needs and adaptive capacities. The transition years of 2021-2022, as well as COVID-19 recovery funds, should be used to prepare for the upcoming CAP implementation period. Key issues to address re: 1) Establishment of support mechanisms for guiding and implementing Eco-schemes; 2) Engagement in mapping efforts to establish baselines, especially for Ecologically Sensitive Permanent Grasslands and landscape features; 3) Expansion of infrastructures (including administrative structures to support Eco-schemes) and capacities for biodiversity monitoring; and 4) Habitat restoration. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2021–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:311100&r= |
| By: | Pe’er, Guy; Birkenstock, Maren; Lakner, Sebastian; Röder, Norbert |
| Abstract: | Despite significant efforts, substantial investments and some local successes, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has not succeeded in halting the loss of farmland biodiversity. To address these weaknesses, the CAP post-2020 proposes a new “Green Architecture” comprising, inter alia, compulsory elements (enhanced conditionality through Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions - GAEC), voluntary Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs), and a new instrument called “Eco-schemes”. Will this new Green Architecture, combined with a result-based orientation of the CAP, help address the biodiversity crisis? To provide science-based feedback on this proposal, more than 300 scientists from 22 Member States (MSs) have provided their expertise through 13 workshops that took place between October-December 2020, as well as a follow up online survey. The results are published as Thünen Working Paper 175 comprising three volumes: Thünen Working Paper Vol.1 (this document) contains a comprehensive synthesis of the results of the workshops alongside experts' assessments of the flagship Eco-schemes proposed by the European Commission. Thünen Working Paper Vol. 2 contains the full reports of the Member State Workshops (Annex I) and the inputs submitted by the experts' regarding their opinions on the Flagship-Eco-schemes proposed by the EU Commission (Annex II). A policy brief is published as Thünen Working Paper Vol. 3. Although the Working Paper focuses on the proposed CAP’s performance for biodiversity as a core topic, benefits for climate change mitigation and other environmental aspects were highlighted by workshop participants; and economic considerations were highlighted where relevant. Six key issues emerged as crucial for the Green Architecture to successfully address the biodiversity crisis: •Protection and restoration of landscape features and semi-natural areas, including grasslands, should be at the core of the Green Architecture and decisive to its success. •Habitat diversity and multifunctionality should be prioritised at both the farm and landscape levels. •Spatial planning is needed in target-setting and implementation. •Collaborative and result-based approaches can and should be promoted for higher effectiveness and efficiency. •A result-based approach is highly recommended for both AECMs and Eco-schemes, with ample experience to support broader implementation. •Communication, education and farmer engagement are key to improve acceptance of compulsory requirements (enhanced conditionality), maximise uptake of effective voluntary measures (AECM and Eco-schemes), enhance learning, and generate a sense of ownership and stewardship. Simplicity in administration and broad farmer participation are central to the success of Eco-schemes. Enhanced conditionality, Eco-schemes and AECMs should be coherent and complementary to each other. In addition, a no-backsliding principle should apply across all instruments to avoid losses of existing landscape structures or habitat quality, and with them, further biodiversity loss. Enhanced conditionality should set high minimum requirements: for instance, the threshold for landscape features and non-productive land (GAEC 9) should be set to at least 5 % of farmland and applied to all agricultural areas. Eco-schemes should serve to expand ambition (e.g. in the case of landscape features, expansion towards 10 %) and improve management. AECMs should receive priority in budgeting and efforts, targeting protected areas, High Nature Value Farmlands (HNVFs), wetlands and peatlands, and long-term restoration efforts. Eco-schemes can supplement AECMs in volatile business environments and serve as entry points to AECMs. Remuneration calculations should be clear, justifiable, and transparent. They should increase with the benefits delivered, and be aligned with AECMs to avoid competition. Farmers should be permitted to top up payments from different instruments into the same parcels if these fulfil multiple objectives, following, e.g., a points-based approach. Member States should strive to achieve a proper balance between “light-green”, spatially broad options versus “dark-green”, targeted measures with high impact. Eco-schemes need to be open to all types of land-users. A menu-based Eco-scheme approach offers the advantage of catering to a wide variety of farms and farm types, while allowing the design of evidence-based measures. However, if a menu-based approach is selected, their biodiversity objectives need to become much more explicit and strengthened. The targets set by the EU Green Deal and associated strategies, notably the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2FS) and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, should guide target-setting by the Member States. Biodiversity targets should be as specific, ambitious, clearly formulated, and quantitative as possible. Workshops highlighted seven criteria for ambition: 1) acknowledging the problems, 2) a clear intervention logic accompanied by a breadth of proposed actions, 3) adherence to key operating principles, 4) ambition reflected in budgets, 5) Investments into knowledge, 6) Selecting suitable indicators to ensure accountability, and 7) presenting sufficiently detailed strategic plans addressing local needs and adaptive capacities. The transition years of 2021-2022, as well as COVID-19 recovery funds, should be used to prepare for the upcoming CAP implementation period. Key issues to address are: 1) Establishment of support mechanisms for guiding and implementing Eco-schemes; 2) Engagement in mapping efforts to establish baselines, especially for Ecologically Sensitive Permanent Grasslands and landscape features; 3) Expansion of infrastructures (including administrative structures to support Eco-schemes) and capacities for biodiversity monitoring; and 4) Habitat restoration. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2021–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:311098&r= |
| By: | Arthur Grimes (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Sandra Cortés Acosta (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research (at time of publication)) |
| Abstract: | Forestry investment involves long time horizons, and planting decisions must be made amidst a range of uncertainties. In the context of these uncertainties, we analyse investment decisions that involve plantation of existing grazing land in exotic versus indigenous forest species. We discuss how investment irreversibility coupled with uncertainty (and the ability to learn about the uncertain factors prior to making an investment decision) impact on the forestry investment decision. The twin features of investment irreversibility plus uncertainty are particularly relevant in relation to the new “permanent forest” category under New Zealand’s Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Act 2020. We provide background to the new regime by reviewing the permanent forest category, and we also review relevant investment theories. The issues facing investors are illustrated with reference to a recent study that explored the role of climate uncertainty for forestry investment decisions. |
| Keywords: | Permanent forest, indigenous forest, emissions trading scheme, climate change, uncertainty |
| JEL: | D81 H23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2021–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:21_04&r= |
| By: | Dupas, Pascaline; Nhlema, Basimenye; Wagner, Zachary; Wolf, Aaron; Wroe, Emily |
| Abstract: | Using data from an 18-month randomized trial, we estimate large and sustained impacts on water purification and child health of a program providing monthly coupons for free water treatment solution (diluted chlorine) to households with young children. The program is more effective and much more cost-effective than asking Community Health Workers (CHWs) to distribute free chlorine to households during routine monthly visits. That is because only 40% of households make use of free chlorine, targeting through CHWs is worse than self-targeting through coupon redemption, and water treatment promotion by CHWs does not increase chlorine use among free chlorine beneficiaries. Non- use of free chlorine is driven by households who have a protected water source and those who report that chlorine makes water taste bad. |
| Keywords: | child health; Chlorine; Community Health Workers; targeting |
| JEL: | D10 I11 I12 O12 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15095&r= |
| By: | Rabbitt, Matthew P.; Smith, Michael D. |
| Abstract: | This report documents the extent and severity of food insecurity among working-age veterans, ages 18–64, who made up 76 percent of the United States’ veteran population in 2019. Food insecurity occurs when individuals have limited or uncertain access to enough food because they lack economic resources. In 2015–19, 11.1 percent of working-age veterans lived in food-insecure households, and 5.3 percent lived in households with very low food security, the most severe range of food insecurity where households report reductions in food intake. Food insecurity varies among working-age veteran subpopulations defined by age, area of residence, disability status, educational attainment, gender, geographic region, household composition, income, labor force participation status, race and ethnicity, and military service history. The report compares food insecurity among working-age veterans and nonveterans to examine the association between military service and food insecurity. After adjusting for observable differences between working-age veterans and nonveterans, we find veterans are 7.4 percent more likely to live in a food-insecure household. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Financial Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:usdami:311097&r= |